Geraint Thomas named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year

Geraint Thomas has been named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. Image courtesy of Dacoucou (CC)

Cyclist Geraint Thomas has rounded off a golden year by being crowned BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 2018.

He was announced as the winner in the star-studded Wales Sport Awards held on Tuesday, December 4, with snooker’s Mark Williams and skeleton racer Laura Deas announced in second and third place.

The 32-year-old road and track cyclist treated fans to one of the greatest moments in Welsh sporting history, with a faultless performance which saw him become the first Welshman to win the Tour de France.

He was welcomed home by a crowd of more than 8,000 people who had lined the streets of Cardiff, and that support has been echoed again as Thomas topped the poll for the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year.

Other sporting heroes were honoured at the event, as Sport Wales and BBC Wales joined forces once again to hold the country’s biggest annual sporting celebration at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport.

Tanni Grey-Thompson was given a lifetime achievement award. One of the most successful Paralympians of all-time, she is also a champion of disability sports and has campaigned tirelessly on athlete welfare.

Receiving his award, Geraint Thomas BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year 2018 said: “This is massive. It’s something I always grew up watching when I was younger and just to be nominated shows that you’ve done something special. So to win it, and to have everyone to vote for me, is really nice. It’s a lovely way to finish off the year.”

Reflecting on the success of his year, Geraint Thomas said: “Even before the Tour, winning the Dauphiné was my biggest result to that point. And then to go on, and do what happened in the Tour was insane. And now this is a lovely way to cap it all off.”